Fountain brush



Dec 6, 1932. J. E. EcKsTl-:IN 1,890,319

FOUNTAIN BRUSH v Filed March 27, 1951 WITNESSES Patented Dec. 6, 1932 JACOB E. noxs'rEIN, or HrrsBURGRrENNsYIJvANIA i y FOUNTAIN. BRUsir Application lredMa'rcll. af?,r 1931.A Serial No. `525,645. 4

Thisinvention relates to fountain brushes, andits objects are toprovide such brushes with means for holding a supply of material 'to be used with the brush, and for feeding it to the bristles, which isgoffsimple and inex` pensive construction, sturdy, of easy and edi-r cient operation, and is generally lan improve-l ment over prior types of such devices.

The invention is applicable to any type of.

brush adapted to fountain type construction, i. e.l which may operate with a cleaning, polishing, orthe like material in paste or plastic form. However, for purposes of explanation-itmay be described in connection with the Vaccompanying drawing which illustrates its application to a shoe brush. Fig. l shows a longitudinal cross section Vthrough the lpreferred embodiment of the invention as applied to a shoe brush; and Fig.` 2 an eno larged fragmentary view of a portion of the device shown in Fig. l; and Fig. 3 a cross section taken on line III-IIL Fig. l.

The device provided by this invention comprises a casing member 4connected to the .25 bristle-supporting head of a brush onthe side oppositethe bristles; The casing surrounds one` end of a bore extending through the head to the bristles, and it is shaped to hold a tube containing material to be supplied'to the brisfy upon theuse to which the brush ,is to be put.`

The form shown is adapted to be used as a dauber for shoe polish, but the shape andconstruction of the brush maybe modified to adapt it to other uses, such as for shaving brushes, and the like. Y Y y Y rlhe head is provided'with a bore 3 adapted to receive the tip of a tube 4 disposed withinV a casing 5 connected to the upper side of the tles and having one endv adapted to project f be provided interiorlyjwith one, preferably,9

head. The tube contains a material 6, such l as shoe polish,which .isto be supplied tothe' bristles, and which is in the form of a cream, paste or the like. In the preferredembodiment this tubeis formed from rigid material adapted'tolresist distortion, and it is of subfl v A. stantially uniforml cylindrical Vcross section from its upper end toa point adjacentits n i lower end.V The lower end of, the" tube isz shaped to conform to and make a snug lit with` GQ bore. Preferably bore 3 tapers downward# ly and inwardly from the upper sidetof theV` head, and the lower end-of the tube iscorre;

spondinglytapered to project into thebore in the manner described, and as shown fpar- 6- ticularly in Fig. 2. The boreis preferably disposed centrally of the head, as shown fin the drawing, although it may be placed other wise, as where itis desirable to feed material near one side of the bristles. 7U

The contents of tube 4 are expelled to the,

bristles by any suitablemeans. *In the preferred embodiment such means take'the form of a plunger movable longitudinally in the tube and actuated positively byfxed posi-1 tion screw 4mechanism..V Various forms ofV such expelling means are known. @The formy shown comprises a plunger 8 'mountedabove' the'material in the upper end of tube 4. This plunger makes a snug: lit withthe tube, and

its shape corresponds to that of the lowerfend of the tube, so asto expel all of its contenta'j Actuation of theplunger is effected` by means of a threaded sha-ft9cwhich moves' in .similarfthreads formed in` acentral longitul i dinal bore in plunger 8. The'sliaft extends j downwardly through the tube, and its upper y end is-provided with a head 10. Shaft 8"is held in the tube by a cap ll1 connectedto-` casing 5, a lock washer l2 connectedto the shaft'beneath the cap preventingl the shaftv from moving outwardly when rotated. j,

, Rotation of plunger 8 ,may be prevented in various ways.. For example, tubell'may tWO,` longitudinall ribs 13 which act as guides forsimilar grooves 15 formed inthe plljlnger.` This construction is seen best in Fig. 3. Posi.` tive actuationiofplunger 8 is thus provided. Upon rotation of shaft 9 by means of Vhead 5,0, c edengagemenft, and the Amaterial kin the tube 10 the plunger will: be moved downwardly i For example, as shownl in the .drawing it extends along the back and is connected thereto by straps; 18. As here shown the device provides means forrapplying polish` to a dauber. To this endtube l contains shoe polish in .paste or cream form, and bristles 2 are supplied with it in the Lmanner described. The inventionfis applicable equally to other types of fountain brush. For examf ple,the head-of shaving brushes may be provided withthis Ameans for applying shaving.,

n cream. In such -an application; the device replaces the customary brush handle. 'Other oflsimple construction. The tube fits directly into the bristle head, and the bore forms al similar. applications will beiunderstood by g those skilled in the art. f'

The fbrushprovided by this invention conduit for passing ritscontentsdirectly to the bristles.V This eliminates the use'of nipwples and-similar connections between the tube.

and lthe Vbristles whichhavejchar'acteriz'ed Afountain brushes prior` te my invention.

Such connecting membersehave been ydisadvantageous. Thus, they are damaged readily, and they usually are connected tothe tube by screw threads. Such connections are not made readily, and the endsof both the tubes and the nipples are easily bent or damaged. This hinders or prevents connection between the tube and the nipple, and may render such Vvdevicesuseless. Furthermore, such connections may becomeclogged easily, as by hardening of the material-in the relativelysmall bore passage thus provided. cc l` .In the'brushes provided by this invention I the tip of the tube is'pushedinto theV aperture formed in the bristle head and maires a snug"l seattlierewith. i There are noL connections to become damaged or requiringthreadis thus expelleddirectly toy the'bristlesQ By virtue ofthis construction also itiseasy to insert fresh tubes, for the tube end is readily Y inserted into the bore, after which it findsa` proper and snug seat therein. This-constitutes a major advantage of my invention over the` devices used heretofore. n

The'tubes.A being rigid', resist distortion,` both before being inserted inthe brush, and in use. The previously used small tubular outlets are dispensed -.wi th,- lwhile thel form shown seeks the bore in the head and the pres-` sureapplied by the plunger causes the tube alwaystovseat snuglyinthe bore. VNot only i,seo,sie

does this render assembly easy, butalso'it prevents leakage'. j

The aperture through the bristle head and the shape of the lower end of the tubefmay, Y

however, assume forms y,other than that shown, the'gist of this being the combina#` tion of a tubev tipfitted directly into acbore .formed in the'brush head.V In the tapered forms of tip the space between thelowerend Hof the tube. and head 1 may be filled `by a backingmember .19,:Figf2, conforming genc erally to the shape of the tube end. The heads of the brushes are preferably provided withnieans-for closing the bore when thef brush'is not in use. This prevents drying of vthe material in the tube. For example, va

gate QO/is slidably mounted in head 2. "When pushed in it'closes bore, and upon 'being' pulledout material 6 vmay be supplied tothekv Y Y When the contents of al tube" have been:

bristles;

wholly expelled cap .11 andthe screw mecha-v 5 nisniarerremoved. The plunger Vthen may,l 1

be inserted in la fresh tube placedin the casles,

brush is again ready foruse.

According yto the 'provisions ofthe patentl statutes, I have explained the principle modeof operation yof my invention and have.

illustrated and described .what nowc'onsider to represent its'best embodiment. However, l desire to have it understood that, within the ly illustrated anddescribed. 'v

Iclaim: j 1. 'A fountain brush comprising in" combination a head, bristles mounted in and'proand the shaft screwed intoplace; 4For most purposes, however, it'is 'preferred to?` supply the tubes with theplungers in pl a'ce. In 4such a case itis necessary onlyftoinsert theshaft and set cap 10 in'j o'lace,whenthe-V lscope of the appended claims, the invention Y may be practiced-'otherwise than ais-specificaljecting from one side of said head, a tubular n casing connected to the' otherv side ofthe iead surrounding one end ofv'avboreofvary-y ing cross-section extending through the head,`

a tube containing `material to`v be supplied tov the bristles disposed in said casing with'A its lower lopen end projecting slidably into andv slidably snugly -itting 'said bore` within'the headfor y,expulsion of saidr materialto the;

bristles, andmeans for feeding material in Vdesired amounts from the tube directly to the bristles. n

QLA fountain ybrush comprising in combiT nation a head provided centrally withv a bore extending through and tapering downwardly and inwardly fromv the upper to the lower;

side `of the head, bristles projecting fromthew lower side vof the head,.a casi-ng surrounding the upper sideof said bore, a rigid cylindrical' tube containing materialv `to be'supplied to the bristles having-its lower end tapered `to at ma bore disposed in gardening with as llower end projecting 'slidably into andslid-` rotation of said shaft positively moving said l l ably snugly fitting thebore, and a plunger movable longitudinally in said tube for expelling said material from the tube directly to the bristles.

3. In a fountain brush, the combination of` a head provided with a bore tapering in-v wardly and downwardly from the upper to the lower side of the head, bristles projecting from the lower side of the head, a'tubular casing surrounding the upper end of said bore on the side opposite said bristles, a cylindrical tube formed from rigid material disposed in said casing and having its lower open end tapered and projecting slidably into and slidably snugly fit-ting said bore, saidtube conl, taining a material to be supplied to the bristles, a movable plunger mounted in said tube above said material, and means for moving said plunger downwardly into said tube to expel said material, said means includn a threaded shaft passed through and co-actlng with threads formed in saidplunger to positively move thel plunger longitudinally of the tube when the shaft is rotated.

4. A fountain brush comprising the combination Vof a head provided with bristles projecting from one side thereof and with a centrally disposed bore sloping downwardly and inwardly from the side opposite said bristles, a tubular casing surrounding the end of said bore on the side opposite said bristles, a cylindrical tube formed from rigid material disfposed in said casing and having its lower end projecting slidably into and .slidably snugly fitting the bore, the tubebeing provided with a longitudinal interior rib and containing material to be supplied to said bristles, a grooved plunger disposed in said tube above said material with its groove engaging said rib, a threaded bore in said plunger, and a threaded shaft engaging said threaded bore and extending downwardly substantially to the lower end of said tube,

plungerinto said tube and expelling said material to the bristles.

5. A brush according to claim 2, said plunger being tapered to correspond to the taper of the lower end of Vsaid tube, whereby to eifect substantially complete expulsion of the tube contents. Y i A In testimony whereof, I sign my name.

JACOB E. ECKSTEIN. 

